PDP ‘roforofo’ fight: Court cases, Wike’s grip, ‘Criminal allegation’ deepen uncertainty

Others are bickering over the genuineness or otherwise of the signature on some party documents sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) preparatory to the National Convention. A group is alleged to be working underground to ensure the party dies before 2027 so that it doesn’t constitute an obstacle to the chances of its candidate in the general elections. The situation is ominous for the main opposition party in Nigeria.

A new National Working Committee (NWC) is expected to emerge at the Convention. Last week, a group of northern leaders of the PDP said they had chosen a “consensus” National Chairman to be coronated at the event slated to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State. But another group from that part of the country disowned the “consensus” plan. On the heels of the disagreement came the disowning of the documents on the Convention sent to INEC by the National Secretary, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, which was purportedly signed by him.

The former PDP national officer, however, said the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Debo Ologunagba, disproved the forgery claim. Mark also speaks on many other issues in the PDP, including why some people are fighting to ensure the National Convention does not hold and the high profile defections from the party into the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), pointing out that Nigeria’s democracy is gradually giving birth to “irresponsible individuals who have no reserve in throwing down anything known as integrity or trust”.

Marks also descends heavily on the judiciary. “Gradually too, the law, our courts and our institutions generally are being thrown to the dogs, because essentially, you cannot contest for an election without a political party”, he stated. Excerpts of interview:

We have many people who are in your party by only the words of mouth because what they do shows that they support APC ahead of the 2027 elections. So, what right does the PDP have to condemn Governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa State for remaining in office after resigning from the party that gave him the ticket with which he contested and won the election to govern the state?

Let me start by saying that, gradually, our democracy is giving birth to irresponsible individuals who have no reserve in throwing down anything known as integrity or trust. Gradually, too, the law, our courts and our institutions generally are being thrown to the dogs because, essentially, you cannot contest for an election without a political party. Section 221 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 says so very clearly.

In the same vein, you cannot also occupy a political office without a political party. Today, what we are seeing is that individuals are getting bigger than the political parties.

The court attempted to make a rule that would have helped, the court said the votes in an election belong to the political party, so whether Amaechi campaigned or not, he was entitled to inherit the votes that were cast for the PDP in that election. Unfortunately, we have had decisions that are different from our court too, that have attempted to say that the votes belong to the candidate who was returned as elected and who was sworn-in as governor; that the mere fact that he is no longer in the party doesn’t take away the oath he has sworn and does not make him to vacate the office that he was sworn into. Why I am bringing this up is because there is no clear decision from our courts that will hold him to his oath of office or to his allegiance to any political party. And, that is why we find governors defecting from this party to the other and the next day they can defect back, and so on.

You also see members of the National Assembly jumping, carrying flags in the television, declaring that they are members of another political party but when they go to court, they claim another thing by saying they never defected and the court says nothing or find itself in a fix. My concern is that institutions are being rubbished by politicians and the court appears to be helpless because the wordings of the Constitution make it possible for candidates sponsored by political parties to rubbish those political parties and go to other political parties without consequences.

The Constitution attempted to make clarification in respect of members of legislative houses where it says if you defect without cause and without the condition prescribed that there must be a division in your political party that makes it difficult for the national office to function, you should vacate your seat. But even at that, the courts have been very unwilling to put their feet down and make that provision functional.

So, we have a situation where politicians are enjoying themselves, they run to this market today and run to the other one tomorrow and nothing appears to happen, nobody seems to be in a position to control the political class anymore. They can do as they wish and nothing would happen

Let me respond by saying that some of us have been agitating very strongly for the provisions of the Constitution to be admitted and amended to include the provisions where independent candidates can contest elections because the processes and the nature of our political parties, sometimes you don’t find any difference in terms of ideology or focus.

They just look the same and their operations appear to be the same. If you have money, you can go and contest elections. If you don’t have money, forget about it. That is where we are today in all the political parties. So, if you have a good candidate and he doesn’t have money, he doesn’t stand any chance. They must know how to take care of that and to make sure we produce credible candidates is to have the independent candidates’ provision.

So, I advocate and support that constitutional amendment in this regard. The other issue is whether the PDP has a right to question Governor Diri’s contentious occupation of the seat after leaving the party. Yes, the PDP has a right. Without the PDP, the governor would not have contested the election at all and occupying that office without a political party is completely illegal and on constitutional basis, that occupation of the office can be rightly challenged.

The law doesn’t recognize anyone to occupy an office as governor without belonging to a political party. It doesn’t exist and, of course, the court will agree that if you don’t have a political party, you don’t have any business in the office of governor. And sadly, our party is basically not… But, the people of Bayelsa have the right to question the occupation of that office because they are the ones that their governor is now without a political party. He ought to vacate that seat because unless you belong to a political party, the Constitution of Nigeria does not allow you into such position.

The Constitution is clear about issues that could lead to the removal of governors from office, including permanent incapacity. Can you clarify this? Again, what are the PDP lawmakers doing about what appears as silence that has been creating unnecessary gaps within the Constitution or are you satisfied with their performance?

The fundamental as far as occupying the seat of governor is concerned is that you must be a member of a political party to contest the election, this is suddenly disappearing and if the basis of one’s occupation of a position disappears…But, this is an assumption…It is not an assumption.

Section 221 says that before you contest an election … the Constitution does not have to provide for everything but it is implied and can convince any court that the qualification to be governor suddenly disappears from their records and you are bound not to be qualified in the first place. A governor who has no political party certainly cannot continue to govern.

For the lawmakers, the current National Assembly is one of the lowest in terms of grading and assessing their performances. When they started they pledged to support the executive; that there will be no confrontations.

Nobody said they should be confronting the executives but the system we are operating is the federal system which recognizes the power of lawmakers to checkmate the executives but suddenly, all the parties that have members in the National Assembly appear to have conspired not to do their jobs.

Infact, many of them are running to the ruling party, thereby generating fear about the country turning to one party system. Those who are supposed to hold the baton of democracy by ensuring that we have proper checks and balances have conspired against the country. They have made it impossible for the National Assembly to play its roles. For instance, everything the president proposes is approved without a single debate; they just read and sign.

Contrary to the provisions of our Constitution, a former governor that was incapacitated still led his state for over three years. Why? Again, what can you tell us about the proposed PDP National Convention?

I know there were litigations on that Danbaba’s incapacity but people were managing him, dressing him up and getting him to mutter a few words for the cameras and then, sustained and managed him until it was completely out of control and he passed on. This happened because we compromise institutions and make men demi-gods, otherwise such things can’t happen.

You asked about the convention of the PDP, certainly, the convention will hold. People are fighting to make sure it doesn’t hold because it is bound to be the tapping that will put an end to the rascality that has been going on in the party. Once a new leadership is formed the people that have been giving PDP a bad name, making sure that it doesn’t function properly will be out of office.

Nobody that has followed the trend in the party for the past few years is unaware that those disturbing the PDP are only found at the National Secretariat; all the states are doing their things without interruption but elements within the National Working Committee, NWC, are causing problems out of selfishness. So, the only way those issues can be taken care of is for the Convention to hold. I can see a lot of commitments by the sub-committees towards ensuring the success of the Convention.

What is your take on Senator’s Anyanwu’s allegation on document forgery?

That’s a criminal allegation and the burden is on him to prove. But, you are also aware the National Publicity Secretary has debunked all those things he said and I believe that the National Publicity Secretary was telling the truth. We were at the 102nd NEC. Before the meeting started, he signed off on the letters.

INEC was present when the decision to hold the convention was taken. Constructively, INEC is already aware. The communique that was issued at the end of that meeting was served on INEC. They participated in the meeting.

In fact, I sat behind the INEC officials that monitored that meeting where relevant details such as date, venue, etc of the Convention were decided. Writing formally to them does not remove the fact that INEC was already properly put on notice for the convention. We know the people who don’t want it to hold but they will fail.